


Beautiful

by xHookedonKillianx



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Growing Old Together, light body dysphoria, some light fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 10:18:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20795033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xHookedonKillianx/pseuds/xHookedonKillianx
Summary: Curses and Neverland gave Killian experience, and also helped him retain his youthful glow. But now he’s in Storyrbrooke and time no longer stands still.





	Beautiful

It starts with a gray hair Killian finds above his left ear. He’s brushing his teeth and when he tilts his head, it sparkles in the light. He moves in close to the mirror to get a better look and combs his fingers through his hair to grasp onto it. 

He’s heard of men around Storybrooke complaining about it happening to them— _“Guess my age is finally catching up to me!”_ —but since he hasn’t encountered it, he’s ignored them, especially since he’s nearing 300.

But then he sees the gray hair and his brow furrows. Pinching it between his fingers, he pulls it from his scalp, barely noticing the sting as he holds it up to examine it more closely. It’s as long as the rest of the hair on the side of his head, which makes him wonder why he’s only just catching it, but it’s no matter. It’s only one, what’s the harm of one? It’s gone now, anyway.

Flicking the hair in the bin, Killian goes about finishing brushing his teeth while he listens to the sounds of his daughter giggling from the other room.

* * *

Two weeks later, Killian finds another gray hair, this time on the top of his head. Bugger is longer than the last and he takes great pride in yanking it out just like the last. Only this time, when he gets rid of it, he can’t help but examine himself in the mirror. 

Pushing and poking at his skin, he seems to notice lines that were never there before and turns to quickly walk out into his bedroom where his wife is.

“Swan, have you noticed these lines on my face?”

Emma Jones ( née Swan ) looks up at him from blowing raspberries on Hope’s stomach with her cheeks flush and her hair wavy with that just woke up look. 

“What?”

He opens his mouth, intending to repeat his question, when he suddenly changes his mind. Perhaps she has noticed them and hasn’t said anything—she did mention to him a bit back about purchasing moisturizer after he complained about his face feeling dry. Maybe that was her way of telling him.

With a forced smile, he says, “Nothing, love. I’ll be ready in a tick.”

* * *

Later that day, he’s at the market buying more diapers for Hope when he catches sight of the gentleman hair dye he’s heard the other blokes talk about and spends more time than he would care to admit debating on whether to buy some. It’s not until he hears a beep from the front entrance that he snaps out of his thoughts and moves away from the shelf, the box left unpurchased.

* * *

<strike></strike>Working with one’s doppelganger has its pluses. Rogers thinks like him, so their filing system is exactly alike. Their voices are only slightly different—so far only Alice and Emma can tell them apart on the phone—so it makes for right good fun with the dwarfs, and when one of them slips up on paperwork, the other can sign for them since their signatures are the same.

But then there are days like this, when working with your doppelganger isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Killian walks into the station with donuts and coffee to find Rogers lifting the cell door slightly off the ground while Killian’s wife uses a screwdriver on the bottom hinge.

Despite having mastered her magic, Emma still sometimes insists on doing things with her bare hands. 

_“Reminds me that I’m human.”_

It’s then he notices how tight Rogers’ shirt seems to be and he frowns at the way his counterparts arms appear to bulge. Killian looks down at his own arms and frowns. Sure, he doesn’t work on the ship everyday like he used to, but they aren’t entirely without definition. 

Though they aren’t like Roger’s anymore.

Killian shakes off his insane thoughts and almost snorts at himself. 

Who cares?

* * *

It’s late one night as he’s pacing back and forth, trying to soothe a cranky Hope when Killian catches sight of himself in the mirror. He stops right then, his eyes going slightly wide at the sight—how had he not noticed before?

The once toned stomach now seemed to have a… bulge. 

It wasn’t as prominent as Mr. Smee’s, but it was there and… bloody hell when did it happen? 

* * *

Killian switches back to his old diet that he used to eat when out on the seas and sure, his stomach growls a lot more than it used to, but he knows what his body can handle.

Emma asks him about it after the third night he forgoes dinner to work on the ship, but he brushes her off and tells her he’ll take the plate with him, always making sure Pongo licks it clean so she doesn’t know. He also starts to go to the library to read up on healthier lifestyles and takes Hope for more walks than normal. 

He’s determined to get back to the man he was, the devilishly handsome pirate his wife fell in love with if only—

“What’s up with you?”

With his brow furrowed, Killian looks up from the report he’s reading to find his wife standing before him with her arms crossed and a frown on her face.

“I’m sorry?”

“You’ve been acting weird for a week now and I wanted to get it out of you before you go hide on your ship again.”

“Noth—”

“Lie.”

Killian sighs, and from the corner of his eye, he sees Rogers and Charming slowly get up before they slip out of the station.

“Traitors,” he mumbles while sitting back and forcing a smile to his wife. “It’s nothing for you to concern yourself with, love. I apologize for acting weird.”

Emma simply stares at him and after a moment, her eyebrow quirks up and he knows his wife well enough to know she isn’t going to let it go.

Sighing, he reaches up to scratch the back of his ear and mumbles, “It’s trivial, honestly. I’ve just…” His eyes connect with hers again and he puffs out a frustrated breath and shrugs, “I’ve noticed changes on me and they aren’t necessarily changes I’ve grown to like just yet—”

“What changes?” Emma asks with a furrowed brow.

“Physical changes…” Emma tilts her head and Killian continues, “I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

With a snort, he leans forward to read from his report again and almost growls, “Don’t patronize me.”

There’s a moment of silence and though he can feel her eyes on him, he stays silent, before he hears what sounds like the rustle of clothes. Looking up at his wife, Killian’s eyes go wide as she begins to unbutton her white blouse. 

They’ve had their fair share of good times in the station—there was one time where he was behind her and he was able to lift her up while she used the bars for leverage that was other worldly—but ever since Rogers came to Storybrooke and started to work with them, she’s limited it due to his other self almost walking in on them. 

Luckily, they were able to right themselves before he saw anything, but one look from the detective told Killian he wasn’t unaware of what they had been up to. 

But now, she’s unbuttoning her blouse, revealing her black brassier—she’s always had amazing breasts, but they’ve grown since having their daughter—and Killian can’t help but shift in his chair as his pants slowly become tight.

“Love,” he whispers with a smile, his eyes flickering toward the entrance for just a moment to make sure Rogers and Charming were truly gone before he turns back to his beautiful wife. “What are you—”

“Do you see these?” Emma asks, cutting him off.

“Aye.” He licks his lips and reaches forward. “Positively mouthwatering.” Emma slaps his hands away and he looks up at her, stunned. “What did you do _that _for?”

“Pay attention, Pirate.” Her tone is serious, but he can see the smirk pulling her lips. “Look at my stomach, do you see these?” 

His brow furrows, his eyes scanning her body for a long while in confusion before she points to her stomach, her fingers landing on the discolored lines that he never noticed before.

“Aye, now that you’ve pointed them out, I do. What are they?”

“They are stretch marks. I had a few before because of Henry, but there are a lot more now after having Hope and if we have another baby, there will be even _more_.”

“Okay…” He raises his eyebrow in question. “What are you getting at, love?”

“Do you know that there are days I look at these and just want to magic them away, so I look like I did when we first got together?”

“Why?” He asks, his voice dripping with confusion. “You’re just as perfect as the day we met in the Enchanted Forest.” 

“Sometimes I don’t feel that way,” she shrugs. “Sometimes I feel like I’m rundown and just… old.”

He snorts. “You’re not old, my love. You’re beautiful and I wouldn’t change a thing about you. I’ve never even noticed these stretch marks before because you’re perfect just the way you are.”

She smiles before moving forward to sit in his lap, her arms wrapping around his shoulders while her fingers move to play with the hair on the back of his neck.

“That’s how I feel about these _physical_ changes you are talking about. I’ve noticed nothing different about you and to me, you too are perfect just the way you are.” He smiles and pulls her closer to him to rub his nose against hers. “We’re getting older, but that’s what supposed to happen, and I’m so happy that I’m doing it with you.”

Killian’s throat tightens with emotion and he softly shakes his head. He’ll never know what he’s done to deserve the love of the woman in his arms, but he’ll forever be grateful for it.

“Aye, love, me too.” 

Emma presses her lips to his and he presses his hook into the small of her back while he reaches up to tangle his hand in her hair. She tastes of coffee and chapstick and he can’t get enough of it, nor does he ever want to. 

They take advantage of the empty station and when they are cuddled in the chair after, Emma’s brushing her fingers through his hair while he hums their wedding song in her ear.

_“A happy beginning now is ours…”_


End file.
